Full Speed Ahead for Indoor Rowing CPD

Rowing machines are a regular feature on the gym floor, but now more and more members are looking to group rowing classes. ‘Crew classes’ are emerging as a new trend in group fitness training.

Indoor rowing has been around for over twenty five years. American Olympic rowers Pete and Dick Driessigacker wanted to replicate the on-water movements when the rivers and lakes of Vermont, USA were frozen during the winter months, and created the first Concept 2 rowing machine.

For personal trainers, indoor rowing is an efficient choice for client training. Although it primarily provides a cardiovascular workout, it also strengthens arms, leg, back, shoulder and abdominal muscles all at once. Clients and class participants from age 9 to 99 can gain huge benefits as rowing places minimum stress on joints and has been used very successfully on weight management projects and community health initiatives. Charles Morley, 81, who took up indoor rowing when running became painful on his joints, clocked up an impressive time of 09:38.2 over 2000 metres in the 2014 English Indoor Rowing Championships!

Personal Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors want to know how to challenge clients using rowing machines with exciting, innovative fitness training programmes.

Indoor Sports Services have just achieved SkillsActive endorsement to offer 10 REPs CPD points for their new Indoor Rowing Instructor Training Course. “The training teaches Instructors and PTs how to raise their own performance and in turn show their clients how to get the best results in technique and effectiveness”, said Angus McKinnon of Indoor Sports Services, who created the innovative course, “and gives PTs and instructors many ways to make best use of performance data to monitor and track achievement through its pre and post training support package”.